Wood-block paving



PAVI

G. W. W

WOOD

APPLICATION Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

s snsns-snczrn INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

G. W. WARMOTH.

WOOD BLDCK PAVING.

APPLICATION men QCT. 4. 1918.

NQNQN'I 7 WITNESS:

A TTORNEY.

G. W. WARMOTH.

WOOD BLOGK PAVING.

APPLICATION HLED UCT.4, 191a.

1,35 1 ,546, Patented Aug. 31, 1920. v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

:IIIIIIID as WITNESS: IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY.

and factories subject GEORGE 'W. WARMOTII, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

WOOD-BLOCK PAVING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

Application filed October 4, 1918. Serial No. 266,850.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WARMOTH, acitizen of the United States, and a resi dent of Indianapolis, county ofMarion, and State of Indiana have invented a certain new and usefulWood-Block Paving; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like arts. v v 1vThe obj ect of this invention is to provide an improved system of.makin and laying block pavements or flooring and the like, by formingthe blocks into sheets or sections, preferably in the factory, and thenla ing and uniting the sheets or sections to orm the pavement orflooring. One of the objects of'the invention is to make a wooden blockpavement or flooring in which the blocks are not separate or individual,but are secured by'suitable means firmly to each other, and thusovercome the defects of individual block pavements or flooring. It iswell known that pavements made of single blocks laid side b side, willbuckle orheave after a rainand the pavement become'defectivc and oftendan erous, where blocks buckle up sometimes a cot or two high and forlong distances Treating individual blocks with wood preservative doesnot always prevent the buckling from moisture because it is diflicult tofill all the cells of all the blocks with such material and, therefore,it is diflicult to prevent moisture from entering the cells andexpanding the blocks. 7 I

While there is trouble in individual bl'ock pavements from expansion,there is also trouble in individual block floorin in rooms to considerale or ab,- normal heat. The use of wooden blocks for flooring infactories, warehouses and other large structures is becdming'verygeneral throughout the country and when the blocks contract, the floorbecomes loose and the blocksrattle and often turn under use or traflic.

One feature of the invention consists in uniting all of the blocksforming a pavement or flooring, by suitable'meta connecting bars,strips'or the like, so that the pavement or flooring will be one sheet,like a sheet of linoleum; This will prevent any individual block frombecoming loose or any abnormal spaces to occur between blocks and itwill also permit the pavement or flooring to be laid without the blocksbeing so close together as to prevent them expandmg without widening orlengthening the pavement or flooring, and also ermit the pavement orfloorin to be lai abutting the same ti htly against the curb. stones orother fixed lateral walls or the like. Therefore, the pavement orflooring can be laid with space between the lateral edges there of andthe side wall or curbing, so that the pavement or flooring will haveample room for expansion without buckling or heaving.

Another feature of the invention is to form the blocks into sections orsheets at the factory, instead of shipping and handling the blocksindividually. Thus sections :01 sheets three feet square may be formedby uniting the blocks with metal strips so that they can be treated withgreater facility in wood per-serving plants.

Pavement and flooring made of sections or sheets, as herein set forth,can be removed or replaced for opening or repairing the street for anyreason, more easily'than the separate wooden blocks. An entire sectioncan be cut out and removed as *a unit, instead of removing a largenumber of separate blocks. Since there can be no disarrangement ofblocks in a pavement or floor ing, theywill be less liable to be injuredfromwater or moisture and also will wear longer than the single blocks.In la ing,a pavement or flooring, the same num er of laborers can layabout three times the yardage that they can 'with the separate b ocks'.

Another advantage is'that much less yard room is required for storingblocks in sheets than when the blocks are loose.

Also when the blocks dry and contract, the pavement as a sheet or wholecontracts so as to maintain the proper closed relation between theadjacent blocks and prevent any cracks or gaps, as are often seen inindividual block pavements. Furthermore, the sections'are eiribletransversely of the street, bridge or like place where they are laidwhich enables them to conform to the crown of the roadway or to any likeirreguof a typical section or sheet of pavement or floorin madeaccording to this invention. F i 2 1s a bottom view of the section shownin 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig. 1. *1g. 4 is a vertical sectionthrough a portion of one block on a lar e scale, the remainin portion ofthe block eing broken away.- ig. 5 is a perspective view of theconnecting metal stri shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Big. 6 is a p an viewof a portion of a bridge partially covered with said improved blockpavement, parts being omitted and parts being broken away for clearness.Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical section through said bridge, parts being*broken'away. Fig. 8 is a vertical section througha portion of saidbridge on a large scale, but having a modified form of side guard. Fig.9 is a plan view of a portion of the flooring on said bridge showing themanner of uniting the sections together in dotted lines. Fig. 10 is aplan View of a crate of paving sections. Fig. 11 is a side elevation ofsuch crate. 5

The blocks 10 used in formin the pavement or flooring herein describeareof the usual dimensions and character of wood and may be treated inany desired way to reduce their water absorbing ower and increase theirlife, so far as this invention is concerned. The individual blocks areprovided with kerfs 11 or other passageways,-preferably along the bottomsides thereof, equidistant from the ends of the blocks so that theblocks can be placed side by side-in staggered position, as shown inFig.1, and then "metal strips or tie bars 12, ofthe same form as thekerfs or passageways, are inserted transversely through the entirenumber of blocks forming the section. The metal strip oi tie bar 12 maybe of any form in cross section that is desired, but that shown hereinis V shaped, being sheet metal cut V-shape in cross section. The.position of said metal strip in the block is shown in Fig. 4, and inthe series of blocks formin the section, in Fig. 3, and particularly'inigl 2 where the bottom side of the section or sheet appears. It isnotedthat on both sides of the section or sheet the alternate blocks extendfor half the length beyond the adjacent blocks, leaving spaces betweenthem, and that the number of laterally extending blocks on the left-handside is one more than on the right-hand side, while the number of spacesor recesses on the left-hand side is one less than on the right-handside. This is to enable the sections or sheets to be joined to etherwith interlocking ins in order to orm the pavement or flooring into onecontinuous sheet. When a section is thus formed, there is as shown inFig. 2, a row of kerfs 11 in the laterally extending blocks at each sidein, which there is no metal strip or bar 12 placed while manufacturingthe sections or sheets in the factor The tie bars are omitted from thosekerf s in the manufacture so as to enable the sections or sheets to beinterlocked with each other when laid.

It is seen that these sections or sheets of wooden blocks, when unitedand made in the factories, as explained, can be readily handled andstored in small spaces in the ware house or" car and 7 easilytransported in wagons from thecar to the place where the same are tobelaid. But for shipment, they are preferably crated, as shown in Figs. 10and 11. As seen in Fig. 11, there are six sections or sheets laid, oneupon the other. When thus laid, the recesses between the projectingblocks on two sides thereof will -register with each other or be invertical rows so that wooden bars 14 may be temporarily inserted inthose recesses and near the four corners of the pile, and then sideboards 15 and 16 may be nailed to those vertical bars 14 to protect thecorners and projecting ed es of the pile of block sections.

he sections or sheets of blocks are laid, as illustrated in Fig. 6,interlocking with each other, and may be laid upon any suit able'foundation for paving'a street or flooring a factory,-or-upon planking20 on a br1dge,as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. As the sections are beinglaid, they are united by inserting metal the bars 12 through theinterlocking blocksat the edges ofthe sections, as shown in Fig. 9. Thuswhen two blocks are laid in interlocking position, a bar 12 is inserted,but only for abouthalf its length so that the remaining half willproject outwardly and can be inserted in the adjacent sections orsheets. Thus these tie bars introduced while the pavement is being laid,not only secure togethei interlocking blocks on the right and left handsides, but also secure to ether the sections longitudinally of the brige or pavement. Therefore, the entire pavement, or flooring, when laid,is

united together, every block andevery section,so that it constitutes oneentire sheet.

In the bridge herein shown, a layer of pitch 21 is spread overthe'plankin 2Q and tar paper 22 is then spread upon t e pitch, and thesheet of tar paper iscovered with a layer 23 of pitch andtheI-blocks arelaid upon this last layer of pitch. But these layers of pitch and tar paer constitute no art of this invention, as t 0 blocks may be aid 11 onany material desired.

In orming the sectionsor sheets in the factory by unitin them togetherwith the metal strips 11, t e are not placed tight againsteach other, utare spaced slight} away from each. other, so that the blocks W1 1 haveroom for expansion longitudinally of the metal strips. This enables theflooring of a brid e, for instance, to be placed tightly against t e endguards or headers 24 so as to make a smooth approach. It also permits aclose abutment of a pavement at the ends of any section of the streetbeing paved to render the pavement at that point smooth. But there willbe lateral or transverse expansion of the pavement or flooring. Yetsince the pavement or flooring is of one sheet, it is unnecessary tobuild the pavement or flooring tightly against the curbing of the streetor tightly against the walls in a building or ti htly against any fellyguard in a bridge. pace can be left at each side of the pavement orflooring for it to expand freely. Thus with this invention the troubleof both longitudinal and lateral expansion are overcome. This isillustrated inFig. 7, where the block flooring does not extend to thelateral edges of the planking 20, but there is left some room forlateral expansion of the flooring.

In bridge constructions heretofore, it has been customary to place theside guards or longitudinal side boards 25 at-the lateral edges of thebridge and secure them rigidly to the planking 20 and abut the woodenblocks against the side guards, but this pre vented any opportunity forthe blocks to have lateral expansion. With this invention the sideguards 25 are secured instead, to the flooring or pavement itself, thatis, to the blocks, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 so that they move with theflooring or pavement as it expands or contracts.

A modified form of side guard in shown in Fig. 8, where a strip of metalor angle iron 26 is used instead of the wooden boards 25 shown in Fig.-6, and the angle iron 26 is secured to the blocks so as to move with thesame as the pavement or flooring expands or contracts.

The invention is not limited to the particular forms and constructionsherein shown which are given here merely for the purpose of illustratingthe nature of the invention and some of the objects and advantages ofits use.

. The invention claimed is:

1. A pavement or flooring formed of rows of blocks, each row'comprisingajplurality of identicall shaped blocks adjacent each other, each h ockhaving a plurality of transversely extending and parallel kerfs angularin cross section cut in the under side thereof and intermediate theends, the kerfs in the diagonally adjacent blocks in the adjacent rowsregistering with each other. and strips angular in cross sectioninserted in said kerfs for securing the blocks together as a pavement.

2. Pavement or flooring formed of sections of wooden blocks, eachsection consisting of a number of wooden identically formed blockssecured together adjacent each other, the alternate blocks in thelateral edges in the sections projecting beyond the adjacent blockswhereby the sections can be interlocked when laid, and means insertibletransversely through the interlocking projecting portions of thesections for securing the sections together.

3. Pavement or flooring formed of sections of wooden blocks, eachsection consisting of a number of wooden blocks adjacent each other withtransversely extending V- shaped kerfs cut in the underside thereof sothat the kerfs in the blocks will be in aline ment with each other andthe alternate blocks in the lateral edges of each section will projectbeyond the adjacent blocks whereby the sectionwill be interlocked whenlaid, V-shaped metal strips insertible in said kerf for securing theblocks together in each section, and similar metal strips insertible inthe-interlocking projecting portions-of the blocks of the sections forsecuring the sections together.

4. Pavement or flooring formed of sections of wooden blocks, eachsection consisting of a number of identically shaped blocks adjacenteach other having transversely extending V-shaped kerfs cut in theunderside thereof so that the kerfs in the blocks of the section will bein alinement with each other, and the kerfs in the adjacent sectionswill also be in alinement with each other, and V-shaped metal stripsinsertible in said kerfs for securin the blocks together into sectionsand for a so uniting the sections.

5. Pavement or flooring formed of wooden blocks, means for securing theblocks together so that the pavement or flooring is one continuoussheet, and a side guard secured to each lateral ed e of the pavement orflooring, so that the si e guard will move with the flooring during itsexpansion or contraction.

In witness whereof I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

GEORGE W. WARMOTH.

